No Homo
by Rudolphsd
Summary: Merlin and Arthur are reincarnated, but Merlin of London has problems Merlin of Camelot never had to deal with: paparazzi, high school, and cultural taboos that make protecting Arthur harder than it should be. Eventual Merther. Spoilers for all of Merlin. Rated T just in case. *I FIXED THE SPACING ERROR IN CHAPTER 1* (On hiatus)


**I know my followers who are anxiously awaiting the "Avengers High School" sequel will have my hide, but I had to write this. I finished watching Merlin, and I am PISSED OFF at the ending. Not only did EVERYBODY DIE, but there was going to be a Merther kiss, but it was taken out. The scriptwriters said in an interview that the last episode was "…a love story between two men." If I could, I would link the interview, but thanks to , I cannot. **

**So, I have seen a lot of reincarnation fics, some okay, some too slashy, but I wanted to write my own. The slash in minimal, but there will eventually be Merther. I'm not a big fan on slash, but I'm doing it anyway.**

**Also, since this is a reincarnation fic, a lot of the lines will be copied directly from the original show, to show the pattern in history. This does not mean I own Merlin. Au contraire, it belongs only to BBC.**

**Enough chatting. Once upon a time…**

Merlin was depressed.

It had been over one thousand years since Arthur left him. Everyone he knew and loved had died, but Merlin didn't. He just watched Avalon, waiting for the sign that Arthur would return. He saw the beautiful countryside he had lived in turn into ugly houses and factories, the forests he had fought in be chopped down, and the lakes and rivers he had drunk out of run dry. Even the Valley of the Kings, which was awed for its large monoliths, was studied and dug up, many statues carted away. The Crystal Cave, the birthplace of magic, was barely glanced at, but crystals were dug up by awe-struck tourists, without any of them thinking twice.

Camelot, now called London, had become a sad place. Magic was nothing but a fairy tale, a wish that would never come true. He almost preferred it to be feared and hunted.

Every day as Merlin walked by the obelisk on the hill, he always took a second to glance, never once giving up hope that something would happen.

When it did, Merlin nearly dropped the thing he was carrying. A fire had been lit, and the smoke was red. Plus in the shape of the Pendragon crest.

Merlin wasn't the only one who noticed. People had stopped what they were doing and were taking videos and pictures of the smoke. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared.

Merlin raced to the clearing where Arthur had died as fast as his old bones could carry him. He was muttering the dragon tongue as he went, a tad guilty that he had to break his promise to Kilgharrah by calling him.

The dragon came quickly, quicker then Merlin would have thought.

"Hello, young warlock," the Great Dragon started. "Well, you're not so young now, are you? I thought you would call me."

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise, old friend. It's been a while.""

"It has. I saw the crest. The day you have awaited for so long has finally arrived. Be weary, for this means a threat bigger than what has already come may be arriving."

Merlin bowed slightly. "I guess I have a prince to find."

Kilgharrah laughed. It was little more than a scoff. He bore his teeth in a grin.

"Not like that. Close your eyes and open your mind…" The great dragon breathed the knowledge, and the old man began chanting.

…

"My child?" Harriet Hunith held her newborn boy to her chest. His eyes were glowing a molten gold.

A midwife entered. "Ms. Hunith? Is there anything the matter? There was a glowing light coming from the door. Are you two okay?"

When Hunith looked back, the baby's eyes were a regular blue.

The new mother laughed. "Yes. I thought his eyes were golden for a second."

The midwife smiled. "All sorts of odd things are happening today. There was a red dragon made out of smoke over a lake, and whole towns are claiming they saw a dragon fly by."

Hunith smiled down at her newborn. "On your birthday, little one, there is so much magic. I will name you Merlin."

…

_15 years later_

"C'mon Merlin," Will shouted, "the group's entering the zoo already! You don't want to be locked out, do you?"

"It's just so big," Merlin said in awe, looking around. "London, I mean."

Will dragged Merlin into the mob that was their small class, which was waved in through the gates.

"People are staring at us," Will whispered. "They think we're country bumpkins."

"Well, we are. I've never been to a zoo before."

Will rolled his eyes. "At least try to blend in. Or can your magic mask you?"

Merlin slammed his elbow into Will's gut. "Shut up. You promised you wouldn't talk about that! Besides, you know it doesn't work like that."

Will clutched his side in pain as they started the tour. It was all so cool, but Merlin really wanted to see the big cats, which was on the other side of the entrance.

"Be patient," his teacher groaned. "We have all day."

Merlin looked sad for a moment, but then spotted an interesting exhibit and raced toward them in curiosity.

The teacher rolled his eyes. "What a boy," he remarked to his fellow chaperone.

The exhibit was build into the side of a building, with a large eye-level windowing allowing viewers to see the animals. Merlin peered into one of the windows, but yelped and jumped back, breathing hard.

"What the hell Merlin?" Will called as he peered into the cage. "They're just naked mole rats. Nothing to be scared of, mate."

Logically, Will was right. But something about them sent a chill up Merlin's spine.

"W-what if they were four feet long?" Merlin stammered, "And ate human flesh?"

Will looked at him oddly. "What would make you think of things like that?"

Merlin shrugged. "I don't know. Let's just look at something else."

…

Finally, their class reached the cats. There were lions, tigers, and leopards. One black panther caught his eye, but his attention was turned toward a roaring puma.

The cat was well-muscled, with bright yellow eyes. Its coat was not black, not brown, and not gold, but an odd mixture of the three. The most shocking part, however, was the voice that rang out in Merlin's head.

"_Merlin!_"

The big cat jumped on the cage, clawing it. Perplexed watchers fled, but Merlin, almost entranced, walked toward the puma.

"_You will pay for this!"_

"What?" He had never seen any kind of a big cat in person before, but the creature was… familiar.

"Who are you?""

"_Speak in your head, fool. I still have my magic, thankfully._"

Merlin closed his eyes and sent a thought at the feline.

"_Pumas have magic too_?"

"_Not pumas, dragons. Your spell sent me into rebirth as well._"

Dragons? Rebirth? Merlin's head began to spin.

"_Who are you_?"

If pumas could make faces of horror, this one did.

"_You don't remember a thing, do you?_"

"_What do I need to remember?_" Frantically, Merlin searched through his deepest memories, but none struck out at him.

"_Perhaps this will stir your memory. My name is Kilgharrah_."

Something was familiar from the name, but no memories floated to the surface.

"_Means nothing. Try again_."Merlin couldn't deny the small mischievous feeling that came from annoying the caged creature.

"_You are Emrys, the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk this planet. You are destined to help Arthur Pendragon unite Great Britain into Albion, and magic will be accepted once more. You will guard the prince until peace is restored among the country. Be warned, for Albion's need is great, and great forces will oppose you."_

That was too much for Merlin. "_Stop! I-I'm hallucinating or something. I'm just imaging this! _"

"_You're hallucinating if you think that you're normal, Merlin_," The cat snarled, both mentally and physically.

A pair of zookeepers running towards the cage, warning Merlin to get back, interrupted their conversation.

"_Fine, don't believe me,_" Kilgharrah scoffed. "_When you need help, you'll come to me anyway__. Good day, young warlock._"

Merlin felt the mental link close, and the cat sprang to the back of the cage. The zookeepers finally caught up to Merlin, and one touched his shoulder.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry he startled you."

"Yeah…" Merlin's voice was distant. "I'm fine. Has he done this before?"

The other zookeeper narrowed his eyes. "Once. Mr. Kitty here jumped on the cage bars like he did for you, practically attacking a man."

"What did he look like?"

"I can't remember. He didn't press charges, and refused to let the animal take the blame."

Merlin grinned weakly. "I'll do the same. I probably pissed him off myself. I have a gift for that."

The zookeeper on the left smiled back. "If you're okay, then we'll just forget it. Have a good rest of your day here!"

Merlin smiled again. "Thank you," he replied before walking away.

Will ran up to Merlin, panting a little.

"What happened? Are you okay? What was that?"

"I'm fine, Will," Merlin said faintly.

Will lowered his voice. "Does this have to do with you-know-what?"

Merlin, mind still far away, whispered, "I don't know."

…

That night, Merlin had a dream.

Unlike most of his dreams, this one was all audio, no visual. Merlin heard two voices. The first was his own, deeper that he recognized.

"_This will be good for you. You need to eat."_

The second voice was unfamiliar, higher in a tone of surprise.

"_Why are you doing this? Why are you… still behaving like a servant?_"

His own voice replied in a softer tone.

"_It's my destiny… as it has been since the day we met._"

The second voice was amused.

"_I tried to take your head off with a mace._"

"_And I stopped you. Using magic._

"_You cheated_."

The older version of Merlin chuckled.

"_Yeah. You were going to kill me._"

"_I should have._"

"_I'm glad you didn't_."

Merlin's voice continued in a more serious tone.

"_I do this because of who you are. Without you, Camelot's nothing_."

"_There was a time when that was true. Not now. There are many who can fill the crown._"

"_Never be another like you, Arthur._"

There was silence before he continued.

"_Oh, I also do this because you're my friend, and I don't want to loose you._"

Merlin bolted upright in bed.

…

Harriet was slightly concerned when she saw her soon listlessly stirring his oatmeal. He usually gobbled it down and hurried to get to school before he was too late. Even on the weekends and on vacations, Merlin never dallied with his food.

"What's wrong Merlin?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "I'm just thinking about summer."

It was a lie, but not entirely. Merlin was thinking, only just about his dream. Could his magic skills have caused it? Was it from the future? Who was Arthur?

His mind automatically pointed out that Prince Arthur Pendragon, who was named after the mythical king, was the only Arthur he knew of. Both Merlin and Prince Arthur were born on the same day, when there were reports of a dragon flying over England and a dragon made of red smoke appearing outside of London.

The puma said that it was Merlin's destiny to protect Arthur Pendragon. He had also mentioned rebirth.

Was Merlin the very same Merlin that protected the first Arthur Pendragon?

Suddenly, Merlin looked up from his oatmeal.

"Mother, I want to get a job."

Harriet smiled. "There's an opening at Mr. Simmons's shop…"

"In London."

Merlin's mother blinked. "London? Why London?"

Merlin sighed. He could never explain his real reasons to his mother. She barely grasped the concept of his magic, and she wouldn't believe his reincarnation theory.

"I want to go out and see the world, Mum. I don't want to stay in this small town for eternity."

"Merlin, you should think this through. How long do you plan on staying? Where will you stay?"

"Doesn't Uncle Gaius live in London? I could always get a job there, at least for the summer."

Harriet sighed. "I'll ask him. But don't be surprised if he says no. And what will you say to Will?"

"I'll say that I'm trying out city life. He'll understand eventually."

Harriet picked up the phone.

…

The bus to London was crowded and smelly, but Merlin didn't notice. He was too busy staring wide-eyed at the city. Although he had been there only the week before, it was still as new and exciting as it was before.

Merlin thought about his home as he watched the gray scenery. Will had been furious and bewildered, but had let him go, with false promises of joining him.

His mother had teared up as she said goodbye, and tucked in a note for Gaius in his suitcase. After a goodbye that lasted ten more minutes, Merlin left his childhood home for what he knew would be a long time.


End file.
